I am in Dubai today for business, and had a good five hours to spend in Dubai mall, a veritable Mecca for watch lovers! Every single watch band that is worth mentioning was extensively represented in the titanic shopping center, even many independents.

Browsing catalogues online is one thing, studying them up close with loupes and free coffees deadly offered is another. Many watches I had very much liked on screen did nothing for me when I finally got to see them up close, such as Roger Duboius! And many that I wouldn’t have considered had be slack jawed.

I was thinking of a thread topic that is popular on many forums, out of every watch out there, if you could only have three watches, what would they be?

Personally, I can up with this answer ( and target for the upcoming year)

I would want a watch I could wear to work every day, a watch to fit several situations including casual, and a dressy evening piece.

My ideal office watch is an easy one, the A Lange and Sohne 1815 Annual Calendar.

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What an amazing piece of conservative art! Perfect for work, slips discretely under the cuff, and when pulled out excuses understated elegance with a sense of majesty that has to be seen in person to experience.

It was a close one between this and the 1815 Chrono. The Chrono is a manual wind and has a breathtaking view from the sapphire caseback. No one does what Lange does, even my beloved Pateks. I spent some time with a loupe and the very knowledgeable sales person explaining the finishing. The boutique had several high powered electronic loupes, the deeper you go, the better it gets! And that goes for every movement they make. Remarkable!

The Annual Calendar has that same level of perfection, but the movement itself was not as complex visually so not quite as breathtaking, but the usefulness of the Annual Calendar function overtakes the slight preference to a manual Chrono.

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The Chrono

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The understated elegance, unique German semi gothic influences design, and precious metals aside, it’s the sheer perfection that really attracts here. I can imagine how comforting it would be to go to work, in such a hectic and unbalanced world, with the one perfect object securely strapped to my wrist. Thinking of that watch as my daily office piece reminded me of the objects carried by the characters in the movie inception.

I really have to get a Lange one day!

For a casual all situation watch, I am happy to report it is already in my arsenal. My Patek Nautilus Chrono is simply perfect for any situation. It looks fantastic with casual wear, and elevates a simple Levi’s Jean and gap black shirt into near Armani suit impact when you slap it on your wrist and It goes great with formal wear. It’s useful, beautiful, easy to wear, and unbelievably comfortable. If you haven’t tried the beautiful nautilus bracelet, you will never understand quite what I mean, but it feels like silk. I swear the steel bracelet feels like silk!

The finishing, although not quite to the level of A Lange, does approach perfection. What it might ever so slightly lack compared to the Lange, it makes up for in artful execution. I have to give it to Patek, their sense of artful approach to finishing movements always leaves me with a smile and a sense of joy, in contrast to Langes very German approach.

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Tapatalk is starting to slow down. I will have to reply for the third pick

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For the third watch, an evening dress piece, there simply is no other watch. One that I have recently saw and was left absolutely in awe once I spent some time with it, the Patek 5170p.

This watch deserves a very detailed dedicated review, I do not think I am able to do the watch justice, but I will say this watch proves there is hope for humanity. Even with all the destruction we have done to this planet, with the endless wars and cruelty and racism, a species that can produce an object of such elegance and philosophical beauty deserves another chance.

I will go into all the details in the dedicated post, for now I will say there is much more than meets the casual eye on this watch, for instance, if you look closely at the indexes, you will notice that they are large, perfect diamonds. Cut and presented in a way that only Patek can make diamonds masculine and elegant. The blue dial graduates from a shiny gemstone finish to a reflective black that captures attention a mile away, covered in an overly shiny sapphire crystal, intentionally sacrificing readability in favor of a jewelry like effect.

No other watches does dress like this watch, it is truly stunning!

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The unbelievably beautiful Chrono movement would make up for the Lange Annual Time compromise:

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This watch costs as much as an entry level S Class, and it’s worth every penny in my opinion.

Very interested in your choices! Any three watches if money was no object.

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I'm going to answer this two ways. Firstly, the Driver8 way (i.e. the actually realistic for my watch fund way!), and secondly, the money-no-object way. (Although to be honest, my choices aren't million pound pieces: they're just watches I personally love, albeit ones that are sadly way out of my price range).

This is a close to a dress watch as I will realistically get! Again, the perfect size for a dress watch for me (42mm), and a great (and interesting) movement.

3) Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore "Vampire"

It STILL irritates me that AP apparently can't manage to make their own chronograph movement . After all, these guys are part of the "Holy Trinity" of watch-making, so no matter how good their 21,600 vph, modular and semi-outsourced chronograph movement is, it's still a 21,600vph, modular and semi-outsourced movement. Frankly, it's a joke....... but what the heck, it's still a fantastic piece and within my price range (just!).

And now the money-no-object way -

1) A. Lange & Söhne Zeitwerk Minute Repeater.

I had the pleasure of handling one of these in Harrods a few months ago, and it's frankly incredible. I won't go on too much about this piece as it's late and I have work in the morning, but if it interests you, look it up as it's incredible!

2) Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Minute Repeater Antoine LeCoultre

Another minute repeater here. Only 200 of these ever made. Incredible watchmaking and you could go a lifetime without ever seeing another one on anyone else's wrist.

3) Patek Philippe Aquanaut Chronograph

Not super-expensive in the grand scheme of things, but expensive enough for us mere mortals. The ONLY decent-sized Patek out there, and probably also their most modern design to date. Just a very cool, non-stuffy piece............ and hey, it's a Patek!

I'd go with the SubC as an everyday watch and then take a SS 5712 and also a blue dial AP 15400. Those 3 would be enough for me.

_________________JustinPlease contact me via PM for the contact details for Govberg JewelersGovberg is an AD for over 50 fine Swiss and German watch brands. Visit them on the web at http://www.govbergwatches.com or call 800-528-8463

Driver, it seems our tastes have diverged more than I thought, I suppose that's what makes the watch collecting hobby so much fun!

I genuinely like the idea of the Zeitwerk, although 42MM might be a normal size for most brands it is absolutely titanic for Lange, the Zeitwerk is to Lange what the Ploprof is to Omega, or the Super 8 B20 is to Breitling, it is their ugly overengineered monster, that just happens to sound angelic. That makes it very, very cool. I really wanted to like it, as it offers allot for the price, but I just couldn't warm up to it on the wrist. I don't like digital displays, and that dial is just unattractive to my eye. This certainly could change over time, I am typing this with a 39.5MM Lange that is taking my breath away far more than the 6.75 Bentely I started on these forums with, my tastes change...

the Aquanaut is allot of fun, but it is currently going for double retail, the waiting list at my AD is 2 years. Its not the only large Patek though, My World Time Chrono is the same size and wears larger, the Nautilus, due to the cushion case, wears about the same, and the Annual Calendar is also 42 MM and significantly thicker. They also came out with 40 year Anniversary models of the Nautilus that are 44 MM, and wear about the same as a 46 MM Navitimer World. At 200K a bit overpriced though....

One of the nice things about AP, is there are so many different combinations you are guaranteed to find a model you like. To me, nothing beats the time only Royal Oak in steel. I cant wait until I gt mine back from Service.

jnelson3097, classy and safe choice! Those would be a very robust and versatile collection!

Heres to your health guys, and to you one day owning those collections.

By the way Driver, have you seen Pateks Pilot watch? They too where not immune to the call of war and contributed to the war effort, they came out last year wth a Pilot watch they insist is not a homage to their previous pilots, but a modern pilot for future generations with usefull dual time complications and wears absolutely huge. The presense on the wrist is unbelievable, makes the IWC Big Pilot feel like a Longines

I have to say I do not like this whole "I will never be able to afford it" mentality seeping into the thread. I don't want you guys to think that way, that's how losers think, and you are winners with huge potential!

16 months ago, I could have said I will never recover, never lose the 60 excess kilos, never build a collection, and never get married.

I now have a collection that few can fathom, and its getting more substantial by the week, I lost 50 of my 60 kilo goal, and have a lovely young fiancée.

Hard work, determination, taking chances, and most importantly believing in yourselves are the keys to great success. Put down your lists and wait for them to happen!

It's probably a little too dressy for me and very hard to fit in a 3 watch collection, if expanded to 5 though, I could easily see having this as an option.

_________________JustinPlease contact me via PM for the contact details for Govberg JewelersGovberg is an AD for over 50 fine Swiss and German watch brands. Visit them on the web at http://www.govbergwatches.com or call 800-528-8463

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